


With Love, The Parks

by sourpatchedkid



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: ChanBaek as Parents, Divorce, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: Filipino
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-03
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:35:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27858422
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sourpatchedkid/pseuds/sourpatchedkid
Summary: After seventeen years, the Parks have decided to outgrow and depart from certain parts of their lives. With a game plan on their hands, the only thing they need is cooperation from everyone else.Or alternatively, is it possible to grow as we go?
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 5
Kudos: 71





	With Love, The Parks

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope you like it. :)  
> If you do, please leave a comment or a kudos or just tweet me @__Jonginnie (yes, two underscores) of maybe a line or a scene that struck you? Just talk to me about anything! :D

There’s a commotion in Sehun Oh’s household—the place where the barkada usually meet quarterly—when they receive a message from the Parks all at the same time.

_Send the kids to the playroom. Adult meeting. Be there in 5._

The friendship group often met in their only bachelor’s house for a change of scenery in their usual routines. They all met in high school and formed their little group during Music Club in junior year.

Fifteen years later and somehow they still like each other enough to be each kid’s ninong and ninang and to meet quarterly.

Minseok, the eldest, got married to Hani—his college sweetheart—with whom he has three kids.

Junmyeon, the second eldest, got married to his high school girlfriend, Irene whom he shares 2 kids with.

Yixing, their high school Cassanova, met Xingmi late last year who he married immediately and now raises one set of triplets with.

Jongdae, “the crush ng bayan pero walang label sa lahat”, married his childhood best friend and has one kid with another one on the way.

Kyungsoo, the “couldn’t be bothered, I’m just here for the food” member of the barkada ended up with another member, Jongin. Jongin always had a crush on him unbeknownst to him. They have four kids now—two pairs of twins. One set of girls, one set of boys.

Sehun Oh, _the ever so single Tito Sehun_ who flat-out refuses to be the kids’ ninong because he wants to stay “young” forever. The Tito Sehun who is single and childless but has a playroom in his house for all of his nephews and nieces.

And lastly, Claude and Baltie. The inseparable high school sweethearts who married in second-year college right after they turned eighteen now has two teenagers and two younglings. They were everyone’s model couple, the parents of the group, the baby whisperers, and the legendary veterans in the field of marriage, children, and family. They’ve been together nearly seventeen years now.

Both of them just in their early thirties with children capable of wiping their butts after every poop session. And, they would be lying if they said that they didn’t enjoy watching all their almost same-aged friends suffer around babies and toddlers.

“Push the button if you need anything.” Sehun points to the doorbell by the playroom which he set-up earlier in the day. “Kuyas and Ate will come here din so behave ha. Wait for them.”

He shows the doorbell to his friends and presses it to make a point. The ringing is heard immediately in the backyard where the adults will be meeting in. Shaking their heads at his non-parent brain and the amount of time Sehun has in his hands, they leave all of their kids in the biggest room in Sehun’s home to go down.

“Did they tell you anything?” Junmyeon asks, an arm around Irene. A chorus of ‘no’ is heard as they head back to the backyard.

Shortly after, a train of older children is going around the backyard giving all of their aunts and uncles a kiss—Winwin (16), Mark (15), Haru (10), and Yuan (7). How Baltie got through all of his pregnancies while in school is still something the group is still amazed by but what was more incredible is how they’ve managed to raise people with such distinct personalities and unique characters. The younger kids of the group are between ages 1-8 years old and the most common phrase they often hear in the Oh household is _“Look at kuya!” “Look at ate!”_ to which the kids took positively and have grown _extremely_ fond of the Park siblings.

“Where’s dad and pop?” Jongdae asks, ruffling the hair of the eldest, Winwin. “Everything okay?”

“I think so.” Was his quiet reply. Sehun tells them that the other kids are in the playroom but that they can also hang out in his office where there’s a TV, computer, and where the wifi is fastest. The older Parks, Winwin and Mark, get some food and head to the office. The younger ones, Haru and Yuan, are sitting on each leg of Minseok.

“Lumalaki na ah. Big babies na kayo.” Minseok tells them. “San sila daddy?”

“Nasa car pa po.” Haru, the only Park girl, replies. “Toto, may food pa?”

“Of course!” Sehun is the one who answers, taking the girl in his arms and hiking her up his leg. Man, he can’t believe there was a time Haru could fit only in one of his arms. Now, her legs reach up his thighs. “Ikaw pa ba? Tinago ko nga yung mac ‘n cheese ko kasi baka kainin ni kuya Win.” He peppers her face with kisses and takes her inside.

“Papa was crying.” Yuan suddenly says. He sits against Minseok’s chest as he plays with his toy dinosaur. “Daddy was crying also. Yuannie didn’t though.”

The adults look at each other in concern. Yuan, the youngest Park, talks about it so nonchalantly that they were beginning to question if it was real or an exaggerated version of what could have happened. But then again, if there was anything to learn with having a truckload of kids—they don’t lie. Not at all. Once when Winwin was still the only baby in the group, Sehun brought a boy to one of their get-togethers. To which, young Winwin shouted _“Toto! He’s so baho!”._ They never saw him after that.

“Kailan umiyak?” Minseok asked, while shooting a glance to his friends. “Why did you cry too?”

But Yuan stays silent. He shakes his head and sighs like an adult before saying, “I don’t wanna talk about it.”

“But Ninong doesn’t want you to cry.” Minseok prods, engulfing his godson in a hug. “What do you want to eat?”

“Hotdog.”

“Se, may hotdog ba diyan?” Minseok shouts. “Yuan daw gusto ng hotdog!”

“On it,” Sehun screams back.

Minseok props up Yuan on his side and walks to the kitchen where his hotdog is being prepared.

Just then, the Park parents—Claude and Baltie—enter the backyard with a backpack of the kids’ things, a case of canned beer and a platter of barbeque with them.

“Sorry late. Sinundo pa namin si Win from school.” Baltie tells them, placing the platter on the center table. “Claude, can you check on the kids first, please?”

_Claude?_

“O, beer. Jongdae, paki lagay mo nga sa cooler.” Claude leaves the case on top of the huge cooler and heads in. Baltie unwraps the food and takes a seat next to Kyungsoo.

“Nag away ba kayo?” Kyungsoo asks. “Ang seryoso niyo naman.”

“Si Winwin tsaka si Mark nandun na sa office. Nagnenetflix, sinilip ko kanina.” Jongin chimes in. “Yung dalawang baby, andun sa kitchen kasama si kuya Min tsaka si Sehun.”

“Oh, thanks.” Baltie mumbles, taking a bite of his barbeque. “We actually have something to tell you. Intayin na lang natin si Claude.”

Jongdae hands out beers to everyone. He plops down next to his wife and pops open his beer.

“That’s weird.” He says. “You never call him Claude. Unless nag away kayo?”

“I can’t call him sweetheart all the time.” The “sweetheart” exits the kitchen to the backyard as if on cue. He takes the chair across Baltie and gives him _a_ look.

“Inakyat na nila kuya Minseok sila Yuan.” He reports. Baltie replies to him wiith a hum. “Do you want to tell them?”

“Ano?” Minseok comes back with Sehun with a grin. “Buntis ka no?”

“Gago.” Baltie looks at him with disgust. As if being pregnant was the worst thing in the world right now. “Well, may sasabihin kami sainyo. We haven’t told our parents because we wanted to tell you first.”

“We’ve been discussing this for about three months now,” Claude continues. “With the kids’ best interest at heart.”

There’s a look of horror on all of their friends’ faces as each sentence unfolds. Baltie hangs his head low as he says, “We’ve decided to divorce”.

“You’ve decided to what?” Junmyeon repeats.

If there was anyone in the world who could possibly go through the divorce, it couldn’t be the Parks. In fact, it _shouldn’t_ be the Parks. They all grew up watching their love story bloom and win. _This_ can’t possibly be happening.

“Tangina, masamang prank ‘yan.” Minseok reprimands them.

“Okay naman kayo ah?” Jongin questions.

“Is there somebody else?” Yixing asks. “Did any of you cheat?”

“What about the kids?”  
“Are the kids going to be okay?”  
“Have you tired therapy?”  
“Wala na ba talaga? Baka nabibigla lang kayo.”

And so on and so forth. Both Baltie and Claude are staring at the ground, just listening to the reactions of their friends who are much more of a family than their own. Back when everyone was looking down on them as a couple and judging them when they got married so early, and all the harsh words thrown at them when they decided to make a family—they had this team. _Their A Team._

Baltie starts fiddling with the ends of his polo shirt. Yes, they’ve anticipated this reaction (read: violent reaction) but it still hurts to say it out loud.

Seventeen years. He and Claude have been together for seventeen years. He spent more than half of his life being Claude’s other half that he doesn’t really know what’s to come for him after this. Of course, he saw this coming. When they both started picking up new hobbies, hanging out separately, not talking about issues and just brushing them under the rug, sleeping at different times—he knew it was bound to happen.

With the kids growing up right in front of their eyes as they grew up themselves, it was only a matter of time before they grew apart.

Thirty-four. For some, life is just about to start now. But, for Claude and Baltie it was the end.

And they swear, they’ve thought this through. They didn’t even fight about it when Baltie brought it up. They were both expecting it in some way. _But no one really told them it would be this hard._

Not when Claude is just quietly listening to Baltie as he lists down all that has changed and the only question he could come up with was, _“Hindi ka na ba talaga masaya?”_

The kids have long been asleep after a long day of school and extra-curricular. They should be asleep too but they both just got home from work—avoiding each other—when Baltie invited him for a talk.

 _“Ikaw?”_ Baltie throws the question back at him. _“Masaya ka pa ba?”_

Claude’s silence was enough as an answer. In the same night, Baltie suggests divorce. There was no reason for them to prolong it when they’ve both established their unhappiness in their marriage. So they came up with a game plan **—(1)** Tell the barkada, **(2)** Tell the parents, **(3)** Tell the kids, **(4)** Talk to the lawyer.

Tonight was **Step 1.**

He feels a tear escape his eyes and he wipes his cheeks fast before his friends could notice. Baltie looks up from the floor and sees Claude’s looking back at him, with tears welling in his eyes too. He protrudes his lower lip to a pout and it sends a small smile on Claude’s face.

“We’ve had a good run.” Baltie tells his friends once they’ve calmed down. “Seventeen years. Isang buong tao na ‘yun.”

“Exactly.” Kyungsoo points out. “So, why now?”

“If not now, kailan pa? When we hate each other so much we can’t even look at each other, ganun ba?” Baltie answers. “Nagyon na lang na mahal pa namin yung isa’t isa kaya lang, wala na. Claude and I are going to do this as calmly, as positively, and as civil as possible.”

“And the kids?”

“What about them?” Claude wipes his face with his sleeves. “They’re still ours. Baltie and I are going to co-parent. Nag bigay naman kami ng deadline. In three months, magagawa na namin lahat ng plano. By then, the kids should know. In our next meet-up, we’re still going to be here.”

Baltie nods in agreement. “Just not as _The Parks._ Maybe just as Baltie and Claude and the Park kids.”

Baltie, Claude, and the Park kids—just how the hell is everyone going to get used to that?

________

It’s a little over two hours since the Parks arrived home. All the kids are in their respective rooms. Baltie’s on the master bedroom bed while Claude is on the sofa bed below. When they decided to tell the barkada first, they thought it would be the easiest. They’d just have to tell them and they’d understand. They need not have to explain where things went wrong since they aren’t _exactly_ sure either.

But there’s an odd weight on Baltie’s chest that sits quietly as soon as they left Sehun’s.

 _It’s real._ They’ve spent two weeks—the longest they’ve spent together in a while—just coming up with how and when to tell their team about their breakup and even if a part of him always hurt talking about it, saying it out loud to the people they loved the most sat oddly with him. At the back of his head, he knew it was as real as it gets. But it seems that his heart was just catching up now because the weight is too heavy and the fact that they’re over the first step is even scarier than planning to tell them. _It’s real now._

“Are you crying?” There’s a head that pops up from the floor. Baltie whips his head, a little startled. He sees a very sleepy Claude. He turns to him and shakes his head _no._ The only time Claude looks like Claude is at times like this—unguarded and a little disheveled. He wasn’t “Daddy” nor was he “Sir”.

“I’m okay.”

Claude stretches and wipes his eyes open to take a closer look at him.

“Bakit?” Worry is evident in his voice. “Why are you crying?”

“Okay nga lang.” But what Baltie really wants to say is— _I don’t understand. I was fine three minutes ago and now everything is crashing around me and the walls of my heart are breaking_ —but he doesn’t.

“Na-rattle ka ba kanina?” Claude prods. He props his chin on the bed to be closer to Baltie in some form or way. “Maniniwala rin sila eventually that we’re going to be fine.”

“Are we really?”

Claude has seen Baltie in all shapes and forms of breakdowns. From a finals-related breakdown, to a breakdown as a first-time parent, to a boss-breakdown, to a depressive episode—he has seen it all. And right now, as he looks at the face Baltie is sporting, he figures he’s having one at the moment—a Claude breakdown.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Claude whispers. _Baby_ was all it took for Baltie to release the waterworks. He hides his face under the blanket and continues to cry. “Baltie, hey.” He climbs up their bed and slides under the covers. He forces himself in, of course. A crying Baltie was still a strong-gripped-Baltie. He pulls him and allows him to cry on his chest.

They’ve broken down far too many times in their conscious uncoupling journey.

Sometimes Baltie slides on the floor to comfort Claude. Sometimes it’s Claude going up to bed. It’s a strange feeling being comforted by the very reason your heart is broken. They’ve been through days where they’ve decided to keep going—to not divorce, to not leave, and to just stay the way that they are—but when they look at their children and they look at themselves, they know leaving is the best decision yet.

They’re leaving the marriage to be better people.

They’re leaving the marriage to be good parents.

“I’m really sorry for the way things are,” Claude mumbles against his hair.

“I thought I could handle this,” He hiccups. “But I can’t, it’s so hard. It’s starting to hurt too much.”

“We can always go back.”

“No, no.” He feels a shake of the head against him. “Hindi ngayon.”

There was so much that Claude wanted to say like this isn’t how he envisioned the end of their life together or how he wanted all seventeen years of their marriage to pan out. He wanted to assure him that the kids are going to be okay even though he’s more than sure that he’s not. He wants to keep apologizing for the things left unsaid and for efforts that didn’t quite reach him.

But in the end, they’re both where they are—the end; _their_ end.

As Baltie pushes him away to hold onto a pillow and he only reaches out for Claude’s finger for comfort, the latter realizes that this is the first time in seventeen years that he has seen himself and Baltie distinctly. It’s as if the hand holding his finger signifies the single thread holding their union together.

For the first time in nearly two decades, he was Claude C. Park and he was Baltie B. Park.

There’s a part of him that breaks when he realizes their new truth and how everything will change from the letters of their last names to the life they’re living now.

It’s amazing and painful to see the one you love separate from yourself and amidst the bawling, Claude thinks—

_This is where I end and you begin._

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> Thank you for reading. I hope you like it. :)  
> If you do, please leave a comment or a kudos or just tweet me @__Jonginnie (yes, two underscores) of maybe a line or a scene that struck you? Just talk to me about anything! :D


End file.
